Mr. Speaker, the member raises the issue of the supremacy of Parliament and, in particular, the supremacy of Parliament in obtaining information to allow it to make judgments about important matters such as the question of the transfer of detainees.
I think the issue of the supremacy of Parliament is going to turn out to be quite important in the hours and days that follow this debate. If I am estimating correctly, I believe that our call for an inquiry is likely to be adopted by the majority of elected members of the House of Commons. The question will then be: What are the Prime Minister and the government going to do when faced with a call for a public inquiry from a majority of elected members representing a majority of the Canadian people?
I recall that motions calling for public inquiries have passed before in the House, including at a time when the current Prime Minister and some of his colleagues were sitting on the opposition benches. I remember quite specifically that they called on the prime minister of the day to initiate an inquiry because Parliament had demanded it and Parliament should be supreme.